The blackened gritstone obelisk that rises above the Calder Valley is the most photographed landmark in the South Pennines. Stoodley Pike sits at 400 metres on a windy moorland ridge, visible from miles away, and a short staircase inside leads to an internal viewing balcony at the top — bring a torch, it is unlit.
The classic approach is on foot from Hebden Bridge or Mankinholes along the Pennine Way: about an hour and a half each way over moorland that is bleak in winter and rolling-green in summer. On a clear day you can see across to the Yorkshire Dales in the north and Pendle Hill to the west.